Smoothie King Almost Duped Me!

Oct 26, 2011

I almost lost at my own game. This is serious, but my mistake can REALLY help you! I was traveling in Orlando FL for some talks. I always plan and pack well—mixed nuts, some portable fruit, packets of salmon, etc. But this trip is a bit different—I knew the setup, where I was speaking, and I’d have some great food at my fingertips whenever I wanted. So I didn’t plan like I usually do—just some basics. And it came back to bite me.

I’m on the way home yesterday and was pretty hungry. Fortunately it’s a decent size airport with some solid options. Could always have more mixed nuts, some fresh fruit, or maybe even a smoothie if done right. You see, when we travel we almost always carry along some packets of BiPro protein—our protein of choice here at the Team Mohr HQ. This way you can bring that to most smoothie places, ask them to use that, mix it with water or milk, some fresh or frozen fruit, and you’ve got a great quick meal.

Now, some people working there cooperate—others do not, but we always ask anyhow if we’re in a pinch. But I didn’t bring the protein this time. That’s OK, I thought—I’m going to venture into the dangerous waters of the 125 g sugar bombs that are sold at Smoothie King and the others—and figure out a decent option. So there I am, staring at the menu; studying it like I was in med school preparing for the MCATs. In fact I was looking so long, trying to decipher the marketing gibberish, that they asked me 3 times if they could help me. I think they were ultimately sorry they asked. "I’m checking out the Muscle Punch Smoothie—it says strawberries and bananas. Is that real fruit or fruit juice or puree?" "Real fruit for both." "And do you guys use frozen yogurt as the base, regular yogurt, water or milk? "Water." I think we’re getting somewhere.

"So there are no juices, syrups, or anything else outside of what’s listed?" "Outside of ice, no. It is a soy protein in there, but we can substitute whey protein for the soy if you prefer that." "Alright, I’m going to do that one—the small size—and I will substitute the whey for the soy." I admittedly felt proud for navigating this menu—loaded with marketing hype—as best I could. I watch him put the water in there. Excellent. Then the scoops of bananas and strawberries. Perfect. Scoop of protein powder. Ice. Then he added a few squirts of something in a container. "What is that," I asked? "Wheat germ oil." OK. While I would have preferred actual wheat germ, since I love the flavor, the oil will work. And then he grabbed two more bottles and added several squirts from each. "What are those two things you just added?" He said "vanilla essence and honey" and mid sentence he added a scoop of something else.

Not even asking what the other scoop of powder was, I said "HONEY? It doesn’t list honey on the menu. I have a honey allergy, so I’m sorry I can’t have that." And I left, embarrassed that I was almost beat at my own game—but proud—I fortunately came out on top. You might be thinking—MOHR, it’s HONEY—it won’t kill you. Lighten up a bit. And you’d be right—it won’t.

But, first of all, it wasn’t a little teaspoon of honey. It was a lot more. And seeing as they didn’t list honey on the label, I also wondered what that powder was. I got home, logged on to their website, and realized quickly what it was. TURBINADO (ummm, in other words, MORE SUGAR). In fact, here it is, cut and copied from their website. "Strawberries, Bananas, Soy Protein, Non-Fat Milk, Vanilla, Wheat Germ, Nutritional Yeast, Turbinado, Honey." Interestingly, in the store they listed just strawberries, bananas, protein and wheat germ. And do you know what the smallest size cup of liquid candy would have given me—84 grams of carbs, 75 of which ARE SUGAR!!! I didn’t want to pay for the shake I wasn’t going to drink, which is why I threw out the food allergy fib … it’s an easy way to always get you off the hook and since this guy already made it, it technically was otherwise mine. Lessons from this trip:

Plan ahead regardless of how well you think you’ll be eating.

You’re in complete control of what is offered to you.

You can always use the "food allergy" lie if you don’t want to otherwise say no.

In case you’re wondering, I did get a little bag of mixed nuts from another vendor and called it a day.

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